Music industry professionals are often reminded, it ain’t the glitter or the glamor, the magic is all in the song. And, yes, the delivery.
Cher’s “Believe” is a case in point.
The veteran entertainer dropped “Believe” in 1998, a dreamy club thumper that featured Cher’s vocals reimagined with the input of AutoTune. In the late ‘90s, no veteran mainstream artist was messing Autotune. Only Cher.
In 1999, Cher’s “Believe” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, just days short of 25 years after her previous leader, 1974’s “Dark Lady.” That meant Cher had the longest gap between No. 1 hits in the chart’s history, Fred Bronson wrote in the Chart Beat column at the time.
“Believe” took on another guise, had another life, this time when DMA’S performed the song live in 2016 for listeners of Australia’s triple j network. On this occasion, the song was stripped to its heartbroken bones, Tommy O’Dell’s impressive pipes driving it home. DMA’s are on fire. Their last two studio albums peaked at No. 4 and No. 3 in the U.K., the Aussie band’s spiritual home.
“Believe” reminded music fans about the power of a great song, and the importance of delivery, when Jack Blocker tackled this classic song on ABC’s American Idol for a spot in the final eight.
The 25-year-old native of Dallas, TX, Blocker turned “Believe” into a country number, and earned a standing ovation from the three mentors Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Blocker played in a student-led worship band at high school, is self-taught on guitar (using YouTube videos for guidance), and never had vocal coaching until he auditioned for this 22nd season of American Idol.
With his latest performance on season, he’ll believe he can go all the way.
America voted live, and Blocker won passage into the top 8 where he’s joined by Abi Carter, Emmy Russell, Julia Gagnon, Kaibrienne, McKenna Faith Breinholt, Triston Harper and Will Moseley.
Watch below.